5.25.2007

Purple Belt

The stressful and dreaded belt test passed with ease for Pickle. He is getting this stuff down. I got the thumbs up once the parents were allowed back into the gym. And, that smile says it all, too.

My sweet Pickle got his purple belt last week. He studied hard and even had to write an essay as part of his requirements to move on. He was very proud of himself.

I laughed when his instructor popped the belt. When I was a kid, that sound made my blood curdle because it meant I was getting my butt whipped. Fortunately, my Pickle doesn't recognize that sound as anything but a promotion in the belt ranks.

He had his tournament a few weeks before. Bless his heart, he lost this one. It was only his second defeat and he has been doing this for a few years now. He got flustered when he had to change groups. He was an advanced blue belt, but he was moved over to the blue belt group because there weren't enough big kids to spar over there. That just freaked him out and he couldn't get ready because he couldn't handle the shift. He was fixated. It is one of his problems in life and one reason he struggles with peers and in general. When things don't go as expected, he melts down.

But, hopefully this will be a learning experience for him. Uzz took the tournament pictures. My camera can't take anything that nice and sharp. My kiddo is with Uzz this weekend and I miss him already. Good work kiddo.